Xcel Energy Inc. and the Colorado Solar Energy Industries Association (COSEIA) have cut a deal to allow incentives and rebates to flow for new renewable energy systems installed this year while the two sides wait for a ruling from state regulators on the fate of the utility’s 2014 Renewable Energy Standard Plan.

Also involved in the deal is the national solar power trade group, the Solar Energy Industries Association.

Xcel filed its 2014 renewable energy proposal with the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) in July 2013.

But the proposal has been mired in debate over the size of the net-metering payments Xcel pays to its customers that generate more solar power than they use. That issue was recently stripped out of the plan and will be dealt with separately.

But in the meantime, solar power companies were working with customers who wanted solar power systems installed on their property.

Xcel currently has nearly 20,000 solar power installations on its system across its Colorado service territory. More than 5,000 new residential systems were added in 2013, a 64 percent jump over 2012, according to the utility.

Without commission approval to extend the Solar*Rewards program, incentives for installations would be suspended once current categories of the program were filled.

And the Solar*Rewards category for commercial-scale solar power systems was full, meaning that Xcel couldn’t accept applications for rebates and incentives for systems capable of generating between 25 and 500 kilowatts of power.

That category has been closed to new applications since October 2013, Xcel and COSEIA said in an announcement on Tuesday.

The new proposal, which must be approved by the commission, would be in effect until the PUC approves a 2014 plan for Xcel. That decision is expected this fall.

A similar settlement was reached by parties in April 2013, which extended the program though 2013 and into this year.

“Xcel Energy believes it is very important to keep the Solar*Rewards program going for our Colorado customers, while we work through various policy issues with the solar industry and other parties,” said David Eves, president and CEO of Xcel’s Colorado subsidiary, Public Service Co. of Colorado, in a statement.

Rebecca Cantwell, COSEIA’s executive director, said in a statement that the proposal will help solar power companies working in Xcel’s service territory.

“Coloradans are eager to generate their own clean solar energy on their homes and businesses, and this agreement will allow our home-grown solar companies to keep meeting that demand,” Cantwell said in a statement.

“It’s hard on solar companies to have a program that stops and starts, and this will hopefully ensure a smoother business climate,” Cantwell said.

According to the agreement between the two sides, Xcel’s Solar*Rewards program would allow:

Up to 4 megawatts per month, and a total of 20 megawatts, worth of small solar power systems that generate up to 25 kilowatts of power.

Xcel had proposed state regulators approve a total of 24 megawatts in this category for the entire 2014 year.

Up to a total of 7 megawatts worth of medium, or commercial-scale systems, that generate between 25 kilowatts and 500 kilowatts of power.

Xcel had proposed state regulators approve a total of 12 megawatts for this category for the entire 2014 year.

Xcel also had proposed state regulators agree to 6.5 megawatts worth of “Solar Gardens,’ the larger, commercial-scale solar power systems that can buy or lease panels to many different customers. The proposal announced Tuesday didn’t address that category of solar power systems.

As of March 2014, there were 7 installations of Solar Gardens operating and generating 3.39 megawatts of power, Xcel spokesman Mark Stutz said.

To date, Xcel has contracted for a total of 25 Solar Garden systems which collectively will be capable of generating 18 megawatts of power, Stutz said.

The proposed settlement also addressed incentive levels for the solar power systems.

Incentive levels in the small program would be 3 cents per kilowatt-hour for customer-owned installations; incentive levels would be 1 cent per kilowatt-hour for third-party owned installations that are leased to homeowners and business owners.

Xcel’s initial proposal in July 2013 called for 2014 incentives levels for rooftop systems to start at 2 cents per kilowatt-hour for customer-owned systems and a fraction of a penny for third-party owned systems that are leased.

The Solar*Rewards program for medium-scale solar power systems generating between 25 kilowatts and 500 kilowatts of power would be reopened to offer incentives;

Incentives for that medium-scale program will be 6 cents per kilowatt-hour for the first 6 megawatts of capacity and 5 cents per kilowatt-hour for the final 1 megawatt of capacity; and

The parties also agree that if any part of the Solar*Rewards program approved in the 2014 RES Compliance Plan is nearly exhausted, they will meet to discuss potential resolution of issues.